Bucks taking cautious approach with Antetokounmpo's injury

Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo has been dealing with right knee soreness. On the Bucks' current road trip, his minutes have been limited in some games, and he did not play for the first game of the trip.(Photo: Cary Edmondson / USA TODAY Sports)

PHOENIX - For Milwaukee Bucks fans, the past week has been all about knee-watch.

Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo missed Monday's game against the Chicago Bulls with right knee soreness, marking his second game sidelined under that designation in a 16-day span. He then was limited to 24 minutes, including being held out of overtime, against the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday.

Antetokounmpo fully participated in the team's back-to-back games against the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday and Utah Jazz on Saturday, though his status was in question both nights.

So with the Bucks leading the NBA with a 48-15 record and 19 games to go, what's Milwaukee's plan going forward and how healthy is Antetokounmpo, actually, heading into Monday's 8 p.m. game against the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena? According to the man himself, he's good to go.

“I’m good, I’m ready to play," Antetokounmpo said after a powerful 43-point performance over 32 minutes in Saturday's loss to the Jazz. "Obviously, the previous game my knee was bothering me, but I feel good. My knee feels good. I’m just ready to play and do whatever it takes to help my teammates."

Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer has preached a cautious approach for all injuries, not just Antetokounmpo's, this season. That's part of the reason why Sterling Brown has missed three straight games due to right wrist soreness, that Malcolm Brogdon didn't play the second game of the back-to-back while managing right foot plantar fasciitis and Eric Bledsoe, who took a hard fall Wednesday, rested his sore back Saturday instead of playing a second successive night through pain.

When it comes to Antetokounmpo, Budenholzer said there's both a short- and long-term plan to his health, but that doesn't mean he foresees the daily questions about the star's health continuing for the rest of the season.

"Hopefully this is something we’re trying to get ahead of and trying to be kind of proactive and aggressive with as far as getting him to where he feels great," Budenholzer said, noting that Antetokounmpo being listed as questionable Saturday was mostly just a precaution to make sure he was feeling good after playing on Friday. "I hope it’s not a topic for the last 20 games, but we’ll see.”

Managing minutes has been an intentional, year-long plan for Budenholzer, particularly when it comes to his starters. In individual games, he has generally spread minutes out, leaving his starters as fresh as possible to play the bulk of the fourth quarter. That strategy proved fruitful on Friday as the Lakers rode their starters heavy minutes all night and the fresher Bucks were able to surge past them in the final minutes.

The playing time of Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton has been particularly managed a season after they both ranked top 10 in the league in minutes played. Middleton was second in the NBA with 2,982 minutes while playing in every game last season while Antetokounmpo was 10th at 2,756 while leading the team and ranking second in the league at 36.7 minutes per game.

This season, Antetokounmpo would have to average over 44 minutes per game in the final 19 contests to match his 2017-'18 total, something that has no chance of happening. Instead, he's on track for his fewest minutes since his rookie season. The difference with Middleton, an all-star despite a smaller workload this season, has been even more stark. He would need to play over 58 minutes per game to match his total from last year.

"If Coach wants me to play less minutes and thinks that’s the best, I’ll play less minutes," Antetokounmpo said. "If Coach wants me to play more minutes, I’ll play more minutes. I care about winning and just care about helping my teammates out there.”

Those five players started and played eight minutes together, posting an insane 124.3 net rating, meaning they outscored the Jazz by 124.3 points per 100 possessions during those eight minutes.

“I thought it was really good," Budenholzer said. "Kind of wish you could play it for 48 minutes. Giannis is just so unique as a ballhandler and Khris as a ballhandler and all the size and shooting. Hopefully it’s something we can have in our pocket going forward.”

Pau Gasol added

The Bucks officially announced the signing of Pau Gasol to their roster Sunday. The veteran center reached a contract buyout with the San Antonio Spurs last week. The 7-footer is a six-time all-star and two-time NBA champion, but missed 26 consecutive games in November and December due to a stress fracture in his left foot.

Gasol, 38, takes the roster spot of Isaiah Canaan, who was released. Canaan had signed a 10-day contract last week to add depth at guard.